Mass of Flames It was a spring day in Brisbane on Monday 6 September 1943, Brisbane was in the middle of an invasion by the US military with army camps and depot springing up in areas all around Brisbane. Salisbury on the south side of Brisbane was a hive of activity with many factories supplying the war effort. Located on Compton Road which is now called Evans Road just west of the corner with Tarragindi Road was the Salisbury Tram Terminus for the tramline which ran from Salisbury through Moorooka, Annerley and Gabba into the city. This tram line was hastily extended from Moorooka to Salisbury in September 1941 to convene all the workers to the factories which sprung up in the Salisbury area including munitions factories. On this day at the Salisbury Tram Terminus was Brisbane City Council tramcar 289, a drop centre type tram which had a layout of a driver/motorman platform at each end, an enclosed cabin at each end and a centre open section. The tramcar was constructed with an external steel frame but all the inside of the tramcar was timber including the floors, seats and ceiling. Tramcar 289 was licensed to carry 110 passengers which included 60 seated and 50 standing. As the tramcar sat at the terminus waitingDrop Centre to Tramdepart with the Motorman William John Cull and Conductress Clarice Edwards (because of the wartime man shortage in 1942 the Brisbane City Council hired about 400 conductresses for the duration of the war) The tramcar was loaded with mostly young females Mass of Flames Story 1 who had just finished their shifts at the munitions factories in the Salisbury area and were looking forward to getting home for tea and a rest. Soon after 5 pm tramcar 289 departed the Salisbury Tram Terminus with its load of 100 passengers and headed inbound towards the city. The tramcar passes through Moorooka Shopping Area and was heading down Beaudesert Road towards Ipswich Road when the tram was opposite Colbrook Street (now Colebrook Avenue), the motorman noticed a 12-wheel American Army truck coming down Ipswich Rd and turning into Beaudesert Rd 1. The Collision Motorman Cullen noticed that the army truck was travelling on the inbound tramline at about 30 mph. At this point he applied the brakes to the tram and started clanging the bell as a warning but the US Army truck continued on hitting the right-hand bumper of the tram then bouncing away and then hitting the side front cabin area of the tram. A witness stated that within a few seconds of the accident the 40-gallon petrol tank of the US Army truck exploded and suddenly bursting into flames with the blazing petrol splashed in all directions causing the front of the tram to become a mess of flames. The conductress who was in the centre of the tram was flung on her back onto the roadway with a witness reporting that the women passengers with their hair and clothing alight struggled to get out of the front cabin area of the tram. The motorman after his initial shock tried to open the doorway to the front cabin area which was behind him but this doorway was jammed, so he jumped out of the tram and ran around to the open centre area of the tram. He then accessed the front cabin from the open centre section and started to drag the startled women out of the burning front cabin section, in doing so he also received burns to his hands. Sergeant H.E. Brown attached to the Roma Street Police, stated he was the first police officer on the scene. As the outbound tram on which Sgt Brown was a passenger passed the Junction Hotel at 5.15 p.m. (about 1.4 mile from scene), he noticed a cloud of black smoke rising in the direction of Moorooka. Later, he saw the fire brigade playing water on a stationary tram on the inbound tram line and gave assisted in helping women out of the tram. Mass of Flames Story 2 After the first shock of the accident had passed many of the injured women tried to assist the other women who had received more severe burns. Also, people from nearby homes and shops assisted in smothering the burning clothing of the women with blankets and bags and then assisted them towards the Moorooka Ambulance Station which was located facing the junction of the Beaudesert and Ipswich roads. The US Army truck driver and his companion escaped from the cabin of the burning truck with one of them running down the street with his clothing ablaze and was thrown to the ground and rolled over until this extinguished the burning clothing. A woman who appeared to have been knocked down by the crowd in the front cabin near the rear door was discovered and rushed to hospital by ambulance car but died on the way to hospital. After all the injured women were cleared from the tram it was discovered that one body still remained partially beneath a seat in the front cabin area of the tram. It was also reported a total of 24 people were injured mainly all of these women were war workers 2 returning home after work. Photo from Brisbane Courier-Mail Tuesday 7 September 1943 page 3 The next day The Courier-Mail (Brisbane) newspaper ran a front-page article about the accident with the head line “FIRE IN TRAM KILLS TWO” In the article it stated the women who escaped from the tram had little of their clothing and hair left. This must have been a terrifying scene for all involved. Mass of Flames Story 3 There were many heroes that day including the Fire Brigade and Ambulance Brigade with the newspaper running the story of what had occurred at the local ambulance station Moorooka Ambulance Station Moorooka Ambulance station officer in charge turned the station into a clearing and dressing station using his ARP stretchers and blankets and his wife who was a nursing sister assisted him in dressing burns until help came from headquarters. Many of the women were escorted into the ambulance station with burnt about the face and with coats and bags wrapped around them. It was reported that many of the burns were so severe with blistering skin hanging from their face and limbs. The women with the most severe burns appeared to be most stoic with one young woman with both legs and hands and face burnt did not utter a word of complaint as she was attended to. 3 More detail of the scene at the Moorooka Ambulance station was layout at the third day of the Inquiry into the accident see page 14. The Women The Two Women killed and others listed in various states The newspaper on the Wednesday supply details of two women killed in the accident and were identified by relatives. They were: — Revena May White (in the list of injured in the newspaper her first name was given as Lavina), 24, single, 115 Wellington Road, East Brisbane, war worker. Margaret Florence "Peggy" Bryce, 20, single, Young Street, Milton, war worker. (On the Queensland BDM site her name is given as Florence Margaret Bryce). The former died in an ambulance on the way to hospital, and the other's body was found beneath a seat in the front cabin of the tram. It was also reported in the newspapers that one person was on danger list, seven were seriously ill, and the condition of 15 others was satisfactory. Mass of Flames Story 4 “Condition of Phyllis Ellen Florence Cooper, 29, single, Brisbane Street, Bulimba, who was admitted to the Mater Hospital with severe burns to the face, hands, and legs, is reported to be dangerous. (She died on Saturday 2 October 1943, succumbed to her injuries, 4th Death from the accident4) Those in a serious condition are at Mater Hospital. — Joan Mercy Hall, 20, single, munitions worker, Welwyn Crescent, Coorparoo, fractured skull, laceration to scalp; Ann Mary Tully, 32, single, munitions worker, Irvine Street, Ascot, burns on face and hands; Maureen Mary Patricia McCormack, 24, Denham Street, Greenslopes, severe burns to face, hands, and legs (in the list of injured in the newspaper her first name was given only as Patricia) (in 1944 address given as Amelia Street, Coorparoo); Jessie Ferguson, 24, single, munitions worker, Merton Road, South Brisbane, burns to face, hands and legs, and severe shock. Those in a serious condition are at the Brisbane General Hospital. — Lorna Vivian Clunes, 22, single, munitions worker, Brassey Street, Fairfield, severe burns to face, hands, legs, and severe shock; Violet Elizabeth Golton, 27, single, munitions worker, Fortescue Street, Spring Hill, burns to face, and shock (in the list of injured in the newspaper her surname was given as Goulton); Heatherbel Jean O'Brien, 26, single, Raven Street, Hill End, burns to legs and arms, and shock. (In the list of injured in the newspaper her first name was given as Heather), (She died on Friday morning 22 October 1943, succumbed to her injuries, 5th Death from the accident 5); The injured listed at were satisfactory: Mavis Therese Kerr, 23, single, munitions worker, Hampton Road (Street), Woolloongabba, severe laceration right leg, probable fracture of right leg, and shock; Jean Burns, 27, single, Bennett's Road, Coorparoo, burns on left side of neck, severe shock; Myrtle Elizabeth Beeston, 25, single, munitions worker, Cartwright Street, Windsor, contusions on fore head, and shock; Gynneth Alice Boulter, 28, single, munitions worker, Dornoch Terrace, South Brisbane, severe burns face and hands, severe shock.